The feather lice of the Levantine Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan and its taxonomic status

Four species of feather lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) were found on one fresh dead and five museum skins of Levantine Shearwaters Puffinus yelkouan from various localities in the Mediterranean. Two of them, Halipeurus diversus (Kellogg, 1896) and Saemundssonia (Puffinoecus) kosswigi Timmermaan, 1962 (unique to P. yelkouan), had been recorded previously from this host; the other two, Austromenopon paululum (Kellogg & Chapman, 1899) and A. echinatum Edwards, 1960, represent new host-louse records. One bird collected fresh in Cyprus yielded the most lice, including 20 specimens of A. echinatum. The taxonomic position of the Levantine Shearwater is discussed briefly and the opinion that it be regarded as a distinct species is supported.